A Mormon Woman's Reflections on Life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Looking for something else, I found this, this morning… So to any of you who may be at the end of your emotional or spiritual rope, here’s a lift…
I was nearing the end of my third year of seminary. To make ends meet, I’d been working full-time while taking a full load of classes. My salary came from commissions, and the marketplace had suddenly dried up. Home life was nonstop action with an eighteen-month-old baby and rambunctious twin boys. Beyond that, Theresa and I were involved in a flourishing college ministry, which, along with success, produced more and more stress. I was at the end of my emotional rope.

For three years I had gotten less than five hours of sleep each night. I was discouraged, tired, and broke. I didn’t know how we were going to pay the bills, and I was seriously contemplating calling it quits. “If this is what you get when you follow Christ with all your heart, “I thought, “Maybe it’s time to check out of the Christian life – at least the ministry part of it.”

That year I had a theology class in which the professor spoke in very clear, precise statements. I often didn’t write down his words because they had a way of sticking in my brain immediately. I can still picture this very thin man with wire-rim glasses, his hands neatly clasped behind his back, clearing his throat and saying, “Students, the wisdom of God tells us that God will bring about the best possible results, by the best possible means, for the most possible people, for the longest possible time.”

He didn’t raise his voice or change his tone, but the words entered my ears in bold type. They instantly challenged the chaos of my life. I ran his statement through my mind, mixing it with the crises we were facing. I knew immediately that something had to be wrong either with these words or my perspective. They both couldn’t be true.

I remember wondering what it would be like if I actually believed my professor’s statement. I would have to conclude that God was sovereignly allowing that set of circumstances to do something in me, through me, in my relationships, in my marriage, in my work, and in my worship that could not be accomplished any other way.

As far as I knew, I was walking in obedience to Him. (This is key to me as a reader–if we think that we can slough or do anything, and that what follows in this article would hold, we’d be missing the point and the mark. Karen’s interjection). That meant that what I was experiencing in those circumstances was the best possible means happening in the best possible way to produce the best possible results in my life.

“Which also means,” I thought, “if there were a better way to do it, then I would be experiencing those other circumstances instead of these. If there were a kinder, faster, more expedient, or gentler way, God would be using it.”

It was a hard truth to swallow. The circumstances I was in, if God is all-wise, were exactly what I needed for that period in my life. He didn’t miss, not even by a couple of degrees. I was in the center of His will and the discomfort and exhaustion was from the hand of a loving father who had my highest good in mind.

So I began to think about my circumstances that way. I didn’t quit school. And though my circumstances didn’t change, I did. My view of God got clearer, and my faith grew stronger.

Those changes in perspective led me to a decision I would never have contemplated otherwise. While finishing school, I accepted a position at Country Bible Church in the rural community of Kaufman, Texas. The prospects of success and security didn’t point in that direction, but God’s Spirit did. It didn’t look like a place that could supply what I thought we needed, but it turned out to be the place where God supplied what we really needed. Among the folks at that church, God taught me how to be a pastor. He prepared me for my next several steps in ministry.

Isn’t it amazing how God works? Imagine, if you will, what a difference it would make in life’s most difficult times if you and I could believe that God is all-wise. What difference would it make if you firmly believed that the problem in your life that is most pressing and difficult – the one you don’t understand, that makes you feel overwhelmed and ready to give up – was allowed or orchestrated by an all-wise loving Father?

What if everything in your life was part of a wise plan? (Karen interjecting here–well, God does not desire our injury as result of others’ choices nor our own misuse of agency, but I think what he’s saying is–What if you really were sure, as we can be, that God has accounted for all of that as well and given that and His over-arching plan… works everything to the best possible end, for the most people, etc…) Can you imagine what would happen to your anxiety level and your emotions? Can you fathom what a difference if would make if you were absolutely convinced that sovereign, good, loving God is producing the best possible results in your life by the best possible means – not His Plan B or C, but the Plan A designed specifically for you?

I will tell you what difference it would make. The wisdom of God properly understood will revolutionize your life. It has revolutionized mine. Until we grasp what it means that God is all-wise, we will never be able to trust and rest in His wise plan for our lives.

I’m praying that today you will understand ever more deeply the deep love and wise plan God has for those who walk in obedience to Him!

“Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and unfathomable His ways!”(Romans 11:33)

I’m a former Catholic with ancestors in Italia… bella Italia..   I just saw an article, clipped below, that touched my heartstrings and reached that longing to make more ties in family lines.  Had that feeling?  Do you know what it is? Well, Mormons call it the “spirit of Elijah.”  Elijah actually came to restore the gaps and mess-ups in the human family by restoring the keys to bind worthy families together–in other words to  seal together us and others to our ancestors who are worthy or will become worthy of eternal life in the highest kingdom of God.  Well, that’s the source of that feeling that is sweeping the earth–to trace their family lines.  And it is the backbone of much of Mormon temple work.

Anyway, I’d love to find Mormons, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are in the Napoli branch in Italy. Love this article, Laurie. Thank you!  And thanks, Bianca, for sharing it.

I have roots in the Pietraroia area, including the Bello line.  If anyone out there has contacts in that branch, I’d love to connect with them.  Hoping to bop over there with my girls a year from Christmas.  My sister went over to Italy to visit relatives, the Trifilettis, in Sicily, and said it was surreal.  Saw the house my grandfather built for my grandmother, still there amid the cobblestones and groves.

I’ll shower you soon with pics of my two girls..

NAPLES, ITALY

Laurie Sowby, Church news writer

Mario Manzella was a young husband and father looking for answers.

But, he says, it wasn’t until he began praying to God, asking why he felt nothing when he attended the church he’d been raised in, that he began to notice the name tags worn by the young men who frequently dropped in to his bakery.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he read.

He invited the elders to his home, and his wife, Anna, accepted their invitation to join the discussion. “As soon as they started using the scriptures, I recognized that what they were teaching was true,” recalls Sister Manzella 39 years later.

She was baptized April 4, 1970, in Napoli (Naples in English), the city where she’s lived all her life. Her husband followed soon after, and in 1976, they traveled to the Bern Switzerland Temple to be sealed to their four children.

Today, April 4, 2009, a new apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ was called and revealed through the fasting and prayers of the Savior’s prophet, Thomas Monson, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Lord has called 57-year old, Logan-born, Neil L. Anderson, to serve as a witness of Him in all the world. Neil Anderson took his place on the stand, acknowledging and being acknowledged by each of the apostles, taking what President Monson called “the longest walk he’ll ever take.” Elder Neil L. Anderson will address the Mormon congregations worldwide and all welcomed visitors on Sunday morning. I felt his humility in the simple observance of his walk to his seat behind the pulpit. It is amazing to know that there really are 12 apostles on the earth. If the world could really know what just happened.

I testify to any of you who may stumble on this post, that this is real. This is not fiction. This is not the result of an elected vote of man, but of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to His leaders who stand at the head of His Church. It “is” on the earth! The plan of salvation is restored. There is truth! There is a way to progress. There is hope. There are answers to life’s questions. I know, for I sought those answers for years, and have found them.

Back to Elder Anderson, a newly called Mormon apostle, or better expressed, apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

On of Elder Anderson’s classic talks regards the feeling of being clean. It reminded me of my own experience, which I’ll share afterwards. In his words: (more…)

Dear Friends,

If we don’t act now, by the end of the week, Vermont could become the first state to adopt same-sex marriage legislatively — without a court order hanging over their heads.

We need two things from you today. It’ll only take about 5 minutes, but your action could make the difference for marriage, not just in Vermont, but in the nation. Once the floodgates open in Vermont, it will be easier for other state legislatures to follow suit.

We need to remind these legislators that their constituents are watching, and that they will be held accountable for their votes. We can’t let them forget that 17 Vermont legislators lost their seats over civil unions in 2000. Urge them to adopt a proposed amendment sending the same-sex marriage bill to the people of Vermont for a vote. Tell them this is too important an issue to ramrod through in just a few days — with no real public debate. (more…)